El Final

With only 1 1/2 academic weeks remaining, a December 5th slaughter date and a final presentation on December 8th, the multidimensional pig project is coming to a close.

The experience has been fun, exhausting, at times delicious and always full of learning opportunities.

Come to my presentation next Thursday the 8th in the Aldo Leopold room of Sterling College's Mager Hall from 6:30-7:30 pm. There will be cookies and if I get my way, a trace of pig...

Pig Roast Post: Day 136

The pig roast was...an adventure. Above is a shot of me, looking cheery after I had changed into waterproof clothing.

Now I'm at the stage in my project where ONLY 8 scholastic weeks are left in my college career, and thus I'm on the last leg of the endeavor. What's left? A mid-term and final report, marketing of hundreds of pounds of meat, and making this project both cost effective and socially just in its marketing. Should be a blast!

Days 119-127: Weight gain!

The piglets are now feeders ("finishers", technically) I've decided.

This is due to their rapid (1.78lbs/day) weight gain, which now brings them to 175 lbs. each on average. That means they should be at least 250 lbs by their slaughter date on Dec. 5th.

The only trouble with their relatively recent confinement is the need to clean up after them. But on the Sterling farm, poop becomes compost given the time!

Up next: pictures of pig roast part II, as we battled inclement weather! I suppose the gods seemed to think we were up to the challenge after the glorious success of the last roast.

Days 105-119

Not a whole lot to report, though two weeks have passed us by.

There's another pig roast coming up this Saturday for Parents' Weekend. This time, we're digging a pit to build the fire in, and hanging the pig on a longer piece of rebar, (with a handle!) and cooking it that way.

The pigs continue to eat a ton (did you know, pigs excrete 15% of their body weight daily??), there's a new runt who continues to wimp out when it comes time to eat, and won't stand up for her food against the other pigs. Thus, we're ensuring that the food is spread out amongst 5 feed dishes, so they ideally all get a fair share.

The above photo shows the pigs in their new, escape proof home.

Days 98-104: Eventful days!

The pigs now weigh around 150 lbs. They should be eating 6.8lbs of dry feed daily, which amounts to 17lbs per feeding for the 5 remaining pigs. I'm planning to feed them 16 however, because they usually get a bucket or two (or three) of nutrient dense compost daily.

I say remaining because our on-campus slaughter and pig roast happened this Friday and Saturday!!

Dave McCoy came and slaughtered Runty and Lucky and on Saturday I roasted Runty (with much help) to feed ~45 students and faculty with leftovers for Sunday's dinner. She was delicious! Especially the parts we injected with maple syrup cut with lacto-fermented pickle juice for some salty, maple-y sweetness!

I'm butchering Lucky's carcass with some help on Tuesday, and freezing it until the 21st when we'll enjoy baked pork for the dinner following all-college workday.

Tomorrow the piglets are being moved from the tennis court (the only place we can keep them confined) to the old compost pad (where they'll be barricaded in) with lots of compost to play in. I'm excited about our new setup. More info and pictures when it's done.

Day 96 &97: Escape #_? and updated weights

Weather: Quite muggy, with passing downpours.

Yesterday we worked hard (Stuart, his friend Dan, and myself) to set up a seemingly wonderful stretch of woodlands abounding with apples and cool, moist, understory, and a pasture counterpart for them to eat grass from. 3 recalcitrant pigs who were more interested in the compost pile (a running theme) than the feed we had to offer them, were brought back to their previous enclosure, leaving 4 to be moved into the new area.

And, today, THEY ALL ESCAPED and rendezvoused at the barn! The wonderful Sierra, a fellow student/draft horse assistant manager who has her own pig and really knows how to handle them, herded them all back to their electrified enclosure in the woods/pasture. I weighed them today, curious about why they were so hungry as to all break out and head straight for the barn, discovered that they've grown 30 lbs in the last 3 weeks!! They now weigh on the upper end around 120.5 lbs, thus require more like 6lbs each of feed, meaning 20-22 lbs per feeding (rather than 16lbs). That new feeding regimen will be updated tomorrow.

Posting resumed (Day 95!)

The pigs are about 3 1/2 months old now.

I'll have weights on them soon. They're looking good though. They're almost caught up to the size of the feeders and breeders being raised by other students that have been getting more feed/individual care.

The first slaughter is one week from today. I think the biggest two will go (pictured above--the black and white one and the white one with black spots). The meat will feed the campus for one or two meals.

They'll be moving into the woods to savor the sweet juices of apple season imminently (tomorrow morning, if all goes according to plan). Today I fed them 4 buckets of slightly moldy pound cake and other goodies from a nearby bakery. Lends new meaning to the term 'hog heaven'.

Day 73: Upcoming Posting Hiatus

Hello!

Weather today is fairly warm, but with a crisp fall feel in the wind.

Truth be told, I'm frustrated. The piglets won't stay in their fencing, no matter how hot it is or how tight the strands are to each other, delivering a strong shock.

I'm going to put up a 3rd line this evening in an attempt to keep them in, but my hopes aren't high.

The good news is that they haven't figured out how to go gallivanting about the farm yet. So far, they're confined to the area of permanent fencing.

Annnnd...the official weigh in of the biggest male pig: 92.48lbs. I was way off in my previous estimate. So they're growing! And that means their feed should be upped even more! Maybe soon they'll stop escaping.

Finally, I leave tomorrow for the NOFA conference in Amherst, MA and then I'm off to Iowa to visit friends for a few days. So, no updates probably until the 30th! The pigs will be in good hands though. I'll be leaving tips for the people staying over break to tend the animals.

Day 72: Rain

And it rained...hard.

Annnnnd, I went on an all day field trip, then out to dinner to debrief the year with the Residence Life Team.

So, I didn't even see the piggies today!

But, tomorrow, for sure! I'll have bakery goods and kitchen scraps for them as supplemental feed.

Days 72 & 73: Rambuctious Piggies

Weather: nice! warm with a breeze, and lots o' sun.

So here's the low-down:

My pigs aren't getting fed enough to keep them from being overly excited (to the point of repeatedly bursting through a 4.5v strong double strand electric fence).

Solutions to keeping them a) contained and b) growing:

1) replace the thin polywire with either polyrope or polytape
2) start bringing the pigs scraps (coordinate with the other people raising pigs on campus this summer to ensure my pigs get priority, seeing as they're the only ones that belong to the school)
3) increase their feed prematurely to 16lbs/feeding.
4) wish for the best.

Days 69-71: Design Challenges and Wasted Cheese

Weather: huuuuumid! sticky! oh my!

Design challenges: the page wire is actually hog wire in places, so the pigs can get through to the sows. this is because their shimmying under the polywire. time to lower it temporarily and add and additional strand, plus put it on a solar charger so that when the main system gets turned off, I don't have to worry about the rambunctious little ones escaping. plus, i learned today that weeds not just somewhat, but severely, lower the charge a wire can carry. looks like i'll be out trimming more frequently than expected.

also! next semester I'm going to try alternating feeding chores with the chores people each day, so that I feed the pigs 3-4 days/week so that I can monitor them better and come up with changes before problems get out of hand.

Wasted Cheese: I attended the American Cheese Society conference in Montreal. They had to throw away TENS OF THOUSANDS of pounds of already cut cheeses. Next year, if I'm not already super busy, I want to be appointed "Cheese to Pig Coordinator" and coordinate with local farmers (especially since the next conference will be in North Carolina) to pick up the "waste" cheese.

weights and pictures soon, i hope! p.s. my official weight guess is a mean of 64lbs. we'll see!

Day 68: Full pigs=tired pigs :)

Weather: brilliant blue skies offset by puffy white clouds, high around 80 F.

The pigs got a full 12 lbs. of feed this evening + a little extra I threw them + a bucket full of calorie-laden bakery seconds. They waddled away content to nap in the shade of their A-frame, all getting their full. The little guys are finally fattening up. Looks like the de-wormer did its job.

Measurements of weight (and hopefully pictures!) to come soon!

Cheers,
Eliza

Days 66 & 67: ESCAPE!

Weather: beautiful and warm (but not too warm)

Tuesday was a pretty busy day but I managed to turn the 250 gal. water tank with some girl-power from friends so that it now faces off the edge of the haywagon. This eliminates the need for a hose, and makes filling buckets much faster.

Today I meant to go out to move fencing for the piglets, but didn't get around to it. On my way back from Ultimate Frisbee playing, as I was approaching the dining hall, I got word that the piglets were escaped, and last spotted on the ROAD. Trouble.

Hannah and I managed to lure them back to the pasture where they escaped from their uncharged fencing (the source of the problem) several more times until we ensured their bellies were full of feed and we connected a solar charger to the fence to enable a strong charge.

We'll see what adventures tomorrow brings and whether they (fingers crossed) stay in!

Days 64 & 65: Warm weather brings zucchini!

Hello again!

Yesterday (Sunday) I fed the piglets 7 enormous zucchini. They were shy at first about eating their vegetables, but eventually warmed up to them.

I also did some routine "maintenance" on the flexinet fencing by moving dirt clods away from the bottom.

Today is another 9 hrs of class day. I was going to spend some of my class time in Farm Workshop learning to use a tractor and harrowing the plots where the pigs have been and reseeding with annual ryegrass, but the tractor blew a fuse this morning, so I'll just have to be patient until it gets fixed.

Cheers!
Eliza

Days 59-63:...and by tomorrow I meant Saturday

Howdy!

Weather: It has finally cooled down to the 70s and the clouds have rolled in, but it was fairly warm and sunny earlier this week.

I don't have much to report from what occurred early in the week, seeing as I was tied up with class, work and adventures that left no room for piggy-time.

But I've made up for that lately...

Thursday I met with Jody, my wonderful adviser, and we determined that the sows are gaining weight as they should be, and might soon be able to have their feed reduced to 6#/sow/feeding (they're fed 2x a day).

Friday I spent all morning (from 8:30-11:30) setting up new fencing with my chums Hannah (the livestock intern) and Jacquie (who's also doing a project with pigs this summer). The sows now have a bigger area to roam, root and graze and the piglets have an entirely new area to spend their days in. Friday afternoon I went to Butterworks Farm for a field trip, and brought along the farm truck to pick up 1,000 lbs. of their high-quality pig grain. The piglets should be set for the season!

This morning (Saturday) I fed the pigs the bakery seconds I had picked up on Thursday along with my helper Tobias (5 y.o.) who had never visited the piglets before. It was quite a treat, for all parties.

Day 58: More tomorrow...

I had 9 hrs. of class today...eek!!

More to report tomorrow, when I have more time.

Today's free time related to pigs included tracking down a Butterworks Farm grain order and confirming the price of a piglet I'm selling to a fellow student for her senior project.

Days 56 & 57: A reflection on pig diet

Back in late May/early June I made a decision with Jody, my adviser, and Stuart, the farm manager, to let the piglets wean naturally.

However, just last week, we interrupted that process by separating them.

Now at ~12 weeks old, they're a mere 52-53 lbs. each at the high end. Some pigs are around 150 lbs. at this stage.

What could we have done differently?

I see two options. 1) have kept the piglets and sows together, but had a line of polywire high enough that the sows couldn't go through but the piglets could, and thus feed the piglets separately with supplemental foods. 2) separate them, and have fed them feed from the outset, at around 8 weeks. That would have meant separating them a full month ago.

However, it's a learning process. I also have realized that were I to re-do this project, I would have the sows farrow in the early spring, so they could be out on pasture starting in late April to early May when there's more moisture and the ground tears up more readily. Then, move them to the woods during the dry heat of mid-summer.

Just my 2 cents.

Days 54 & 55: Movement sans madness!!

Weather: MUGGY. Record breaking, even.

I think we've finally got this pig movement thing under control.

On Wednesday, Stuart and I moved the piglets in the evening back to Virginia Russell (which is now powered by the farm lines, not a battery!!!)

I also heard this fascinating and well researched VPR story. Definitely in line with what I'm trying to accomplish with my sliding scale pork prices.

On Thursday, Hannah and I moved the sows out behind the barn with no problem.

Also on Thursday, I brought some friends out who are new to Sterling (they're here for the summer program in Farm to Table) and they delighted in checking out the piglets. We fed them whey from the kitchen's cheese making as well as spare beet greens and bakery seconds. They seemed quite happy with our offerings.

Day 53: more shots

Weather: sticky and in the high 80s with abundant sunshine.

Today I set up fencing for as long as I could bear before retiring to the shade.

This evening Stuart and I did our best to inject the sows. They had to get 8ml of anti-wormer. We managed to get the full 8 into Ice Cream but had to settle for 5ml with Maple. She just wasn't having it.

That's it for Wednesday!

Days 50-52: A break from the farm

Weather: it has been hot, muggy and sunny, consistently.

Not much to report, aside from what happened on Friday.

Which was, I must admit, painful and a bit funny.

Stuart and I spent an intense hour separating the sows from the piglets in a trailer, and bringing them back near the barn. We returned after dinner to learn that the piglets had escaped and traveled the long trek from the pasture back to the barn, and to do so, had to bust through an electric fence and follow a narrow footpath through the woods. So, to resolve this we gathered the piglets in a outside paddock, and barred the sows in a barn stall. Quite the endeavor.

Then, Stuart and I and 11 others took off for the White Mountains where we spent a blissful 16 hours hiking and not worrying about pigs.

Tomorrow morning: give the sows shots and prepare an area back in the pasture for the piglets, one that is stronger and better than ever before. Will it keep them separate from their mamas. Will it stop them? Check back in soon for details.

Days 48 and 49: Shots, bites, and fencing

Weather: quite warm, sunny, around 83F.

Yesterday was fun. A friend and I set up fencing for the sows in the pasture behind the upper barn. They should be happy there.

Today was interesting. We wanted to inject the pigs with Dectomax, so first we practiced with a lemon (to simulate a sub-cutaneous shot), and then did the real deal on 2 pigs that are currently in confinement for 2 other students' projects. They are very used to being handled, and things went smoothly.

Then we trekked up to Virginia Russell Pasture, and one person would deliver a shot while another would mark the piglet with chalk, and a third person would hold the dewormer. By the third pig, when the piglet let out a squeal of pain, Ice Cream, our most protective sow, got mad. She charged at a student who was helping us and snapped at her, grazing her calf. When she bravely went back in to finish the shot, Ice Cream again went at her, this time leaving a bruise and scrape marks from her front teeth on her thigh. The student and I went to the other side of the fence for safety while Stuart motioned to the sow that he was taller than her and not to mess with us anymore. With that we recorded which piglets we had injected (the spotted one, the black and white one, and the big striped one) and got out of there.

This afternoon we'll be moving the sows to new pasture in a trailer, effectively separating them from their beloved piglets. Wish us luck!

Day 47: electric all the way

Weather: Beautiful with a cool breeze. High around 80.

Today I learned that sows can bust through page wire. Though, I'm improving! I learned this through conversation, not experience. (Thus, the sows new area, though already fenced in, will be supplemented with a single strand of polywire) =)

Otherwise, not much is new. Expect a big update in the next couple of days...we're moving the sows to new ground, and that's always an adventure!

Days 31-46: A long past due update

Weather: Warm then "cold", then warm again. It's been quite muggy the past couple of days.

I'll hit the high notes given that this update spans such a long period of time (sorry about that, I was dealing with a mixture of laziness and inundation with work, a potent mix)

Well, the pigs escaped, twice. Both times because the wire connecting the fence to the battery fell off or was mistakenly not put back on after someone took it off. Either way, each time the pigs, acting in tandem, took off to far away fields. Both times, I was unfortunately not on the farm to help. The first time they ended up acres away and across the road at the Art House and the second time they ate ALL the grain in the can (over 50lbs) and then crossed the bridge to the farm. Having never been that way, I'm amazed at their navigation skills. They must have been guided by their noses (after all, they must have been "hungry" after eating 50+ lbs. of feed).

Recent news: The piglets and sows both have strongyles. According to a Pig Parasites site, "there are two important strongyle worms in the pig. Hyostrongylus rubidus, the red stomach worm and Oesophagostomum dentatum which lives in the large intestine. Neither of these worms migrate around the body, but live in the wall and lumen of the intestines causing local damage which results in poor food conversion and growth."

I've become recently concerned with the sows weight and the piglets slow growth rates (compared to their peers that classmates are raising for independent studies). I now can attribute this to them not being weaned as well as to this parasite, which the vet confirmed them to have.

Otherwise, all is well in piggy land! The pigs will be treated soon for the parasites through an injection of dectomax. They definitely make much better progress on the land after a rain, and given the general dryness factor in July and August, we have made a decision as an ag team: move the sows off the pasture (that is far from the barn) where they currently are and move them closer to the barn. This will allow the piglets to be weaned as well as reduce the work load of chores people (because the majority of water and feed is currently provided for the sows, big mamas that they are).

Well, that's it for this time! More timely updates, coming soon!

Days 27-30: a whole month gone by!

Hello again!

Weather: dreary, drab and a little sad. It just hasn't seemed to stop raining lately. (OK, I'm exaggerating, but still, it's been quite wet)

...and so, in light of the moistened ground conditions, the pigs have wreaked havoc (in as good a way as possible) on the pasture, leaving no spot unrooted.

Stuart and I moved them this evening to a fresh patch which seemed to please them to no end. It was great to see them wading through the tall grasses emitting what I can only guess to be grunts of pleasure.

Next tasks: researching self-weaning and developing a system for feeding the piglets separately from the voracious sows. And, using the draft horses to work a springtooth harrow over the clumpy rooted parts before we sow pasture seeds.

Until next time,
Eliza

Day 26: Good Reads

Weather: Cloudy, cool (60s) and patchy rain.

I want to note 2 things:

1) there is a great demand for pork at Sterling (that is processed in a USDA approved slaugherhouse). now comes the conundrum of how much of the 3 pigs slaughtered in December should go to the kitchen, and how much should go to my distribution across income levels?

2) the following books are handy, and I daresay near indispensable for pig raising.

and, "Living with Pigs" by Chuck Wooster.

Days 24 & 25: Solstice and Successes!

Weather: Tuesday was a brilliant day to usher in the official start of summer, while today has been a bit warmer, with clouds rolling in and the threat of rain.

Fortunately, the waterer hasn't been acting up any further with mysterious disappearances of tens of gallons of water. Even more fortunately, Ephraim, one of the many "handy" farm hands has connected the piping running along Virgina Russell Pasture to the Inn (a student dormitory), so no more schlepping water from the barn via tractor! What a joy it is to have a supportive crew of able workers, thinkers, and tinkerers to support my project. It truly is a collaborative Sterling project.

In other piggy-related news, I went and hung out with the pigs for a couple of hours on Tuesday while attempting to get some reading done. Instead, I just ended up doling out back scratches and belly rubs to the bolder of the pigs. Stout (my favorite pig) has gotten quite accustomed to such treatment, and saunters right up to me whenever she isn't busy eating or sleeping.

Next major update will be of pig measurements, and hopefully some more pictures.

Days 22 & 23: Long and brilliant

Weather: has been GORGEOUS. Breezy, sunny, low-70s.

Things have been good. I moved the pigs today and they were enthusiastic about their new stretch of pasture. I didn't have a camera, but the sight of them lost amidst the purple common vetch flowers and buttercup was something to behold.

There's only slight trouble with the pigs: Their waterer is mysteriously depleting at an unbelievable rate. 125 gallons in 24 hrs, when there's no leak!? I'm flummoxed. The only rational explanation is that someone on farm chores duty let it seriously overflow the water basin. Weird. And annoying, because its quite the effort to fill up sap tanks and bring them all the way out to the field.

Besides that slight trouble, all is well! The pigs seem content.

Days 19-21: Happy pigs!

Weather: has been very agreeable, in the 70s and sunny.

I fed the pigs whey (from the Farm to Table classes @ Sterling), baked goods and comfrey the other day. They dove into the whey and the baked goods and ignored the comfrey. Surprise?

I also did a species ID of the pasture before the pigs moved into it, where I found: milkweed, white clover, red clover, common vetch, Kentucky bluegrass, reed canary grass, bird’s eye speedwell, perennial ryegrass, buttercup, tall fescue, rough cinquefoil, and orchard grass. Not too bad! We'll be adding bromegrass and ryegrass among whatever else we can dig up. The mix will be seeded behind the pigs in their last day of each rotation.

Days 17 & 18: Madness and now Happiness

Yesterday, I spent all day scything pasture in order to set up fencing. The weather was perfect for manual labor, cloudy and in the high 50s. This was after selling 6 piglets. While we were completing the transaction, Ice Cream (the bigger sow) vaulted the 3 ft wooden barrier and came pummeling toward her squealing babies. Luckily, we were able to react quickly and keep her contained in the barn.

In the evening, Stuart (the farm manager), Jade (who is also doing a project with pigs this summer, and is a great pig handler) and I attempted to move the pigs to pasture.

It was a disaster, albeit an entertaining one.

The pigs weren't hungry enough to be guided by our grain and milk, instead what happened is the sows bee-lined for the compost heaps while the piglets ricocheted about. Next we beckoned them into a trailer, but the trailer couldn't make it down the farm road because of low-lying branches and rutted out conditions. So, they spent the night in the trailer.

I had class all morning, but Stuart, farm manager extraordinaire that he is, moved the pigs via a different route first thing in the morning. The weather today is steamy relative to the weather we've been having, around 80 and clear skies.

I just got back from visiting them on pasture. Man, do they look good! I re-filled their water, gave the sows a drink of cold water straight from the house, and doused some of the piglets. Before leaving I made sure to give my favorite pig (a black and brown striped one named Stout) a back rub and was on my way. Soon, I will remember my camera so you too can revel in the perfect picture that is a pig on pasture!

Day 16, waitin' on a dry day

...so I can set up fencing.

Weather today was cloudy, 50s and raining off and on.

Today I made several more calls to local breweries/bakeries/businesses (and other places that don't start with 'b'). No luck, everyone's got compost, pigs, a food pantry or a farmer they already donate to. I'm definitely making a map at the end of this depicting where all the food waste goes in this part of VT. It's quite impressive.

Friday I watched the pigs down about 12-15 gallons of milk in under 2 minutes. They're eating machines.

Also, I decided to sell 2 of the 8 piglets now rather than later. So I'll only be raising 6 piglets in addition to the two sows. They'll still do plenty of tilling, I have no doubt.

Tomorrow will ideally be the last day of pig selling. Then, as long as it stops raining long enough for me to set up fencing, they'll be on pasture!

Days 9-15 (apologies for the delay)

Weather: Has been all over the place, spanning cold, damp and rainy, to warm, dry, and sunshine-y.

The week in brief:

The pigs are beginning to be sold! All the buyers will finish their buying by mid-week. Then, if it ever stops raining and I can get the fencing set-up, the pigs will be on pasture this week!

Other developments include a finished water nipple system set-up connected to one of the 250 gal. sap tanks the farm acquired.

I picked up milk for the piggies pretty regularly as well. This is in addition to baked goods and "salad" (grass clippings from the scythe) both of which they love.

Tah-dah! Sorry for the brevity, but it's a Sunday night and it has been a busy weekend, so...g2g.

DAYS 7 & 8: countdown to pasture time!

Weather: Two more beautiful days. Yesterday was a bit cool and cloudy, and today is humid and warm, a balmy 77 at the time of this posting.

Yesterday, Sunday I pretty much took the day off from pig related duties, with the exception of bringing the pigs some ultra fresh milk from a local dairy farmer. (I watched the milk being pumped from the cow). The pigs loved it.

Today, Monday, I was in class all morning, but in the afternoon picked up more of the same delicious looking raw milk (I wish I had poured myself a glass before the pigs greedily gulped down 6 gallons in around 1 minutes time).

Today I also met with my adviser, and we've laid out a plan for a watering system and for moving the pigs to pasture. Otherwise, we came up with several exciting academic pursuits to incorporate into my project. I really love this kind of learning, the collaborative kind, not the top-down kind.

PICTURES SOON. I promise. I just need to get in the habit of carrying my camera with me to the barn.

p.s. pigs officially on pasture, this week! (will be moved to their official pasture that they'll be regenerating next week, once the buyers come for the 13 piglets we're selling).

DAYS 5 & 6: fun in the pig pen

Weather: Has been gorgeous. Sunny, cloudless skies with highs in the 70s yesterday and today.

The biggest thing that's happened in piggy-dom from my perspective has been my delight in certain pigs overcoming their fear of me. I was able to give several pigs a full belly/back/behind-the-ears rubdown, something they usually would have writhed away from.

I also put up electric fencing inside their pen so they can be trained 24/7, even when they're not roaming in the pen we set up for them.

Other than that, the only other thing I have to note is that all the pigs save for 2 (so, 21 of them) were in a pile today sleeping. Their cuteness level cannot be understated.

Oh, and I'm picking up leftover milk from a nearby dairy tomorrow! Only 5 gallons or so, but still, the piggies will love it.

DAY 4: Fence training and clever pigs

Weather: Cold front! High around 56 and cloudy.

I let all the pigs out into the fence training paddock, and all was fine and dandy as they pranced around, rooted, and tore up chunks of grass and shook them back and forth. Occasionally, they ventured over to the fence to test it out, and promptly would squeal in pain as their wet little noses got a serious shock.

Things were so good, and the pigs were contained so well by the fence that I decided to go to the library and do a bit of work.

When I returned, the pigs were all back in their pen with the gate fastened shut. Confused, I went to talk to some of the folks who were on the farm while I was gone, where I learned that the pigs had escaped! They had been allowed free range of a paddock and the barn where they normally are kept, and busted through a gate in the barn and the front door, which wasn't latched, in order to proudly sashay over to the compost windrows.

What clever animals!! The sheep never attempted such shenanigans when they were in the same setup. As the draft horse manager reminded me, they're going to have to be deprived of all temptation if they're to be kept contained. He likened it to a piggy 12 step program :)

Oh, and today I built a trough with the help of a farm hand. It's designed to be pig-proof (can't be tipped or "hogged" (ie. one pig can't lie in it like they're prone to do, and monopolize all the food)

DAY 3: "Swing Scything Away"

Weather: Another warm, sunny, mid-80s day. Cold front tomorrow though! Lookin' forward to it.

Updates:

I'll try to keep this brief as I'm in need of some time to actually sit down and do my homework. I've either been in class or scything/arranging electric fences since 6:15 this morning.

1 of the 2 cheese places left on my list doesn't have whey. They too have pigs!!

I scythed all around the training fence for the pigs today. So much fun since I'm borrowing a really nice Swiss scythe which my fellow scythe nerd friend coined the use of as like having "scythe sex". It's true, it's that great of a tool.

Tomorrow: no class, lots more pig stuff.

• pig fence training! this is GREAT news. the pigs are finally going to get some fresh air and grass in their system. plus, it should be cloudy, so there's less chance of them getting burnt. (I'm still going to put up a tarp shade area for them however. Vermont weather changes unbelievably fast).
• need to figure out what to plant and when for pig forage (I'm thinking brassicas, turnips etc. We already have mangels planted)
• need to continue figuring out slaughter stuff. The question is weather to slaughter them in August or December...They'll be small in August, but that saves 3 months of labor in which I can work on other things.
  
• building a pig-tough trough in the afternoon
• plus other miscellaneous things like making phone calls to various other receivers of pork and providers of waste and picking up scraps.

Cheers,
Eliza

DAY 2: abundant sunshine and pig feed hunting

Weather: SUNNY as can be (everyone on campus is sporting varying degrees of pinkness) and warm, in the mid-high 80s.

Good news:

• Well, to start off with a side note, breakfast at Sterling was divine this morning: pecan banana pancakes, maple syrup and sausage. oh man.
• Got lucky, one of the local schools is willing to set aside pre-consumer waste for me! All I had to do was provide lidded buckets and a promise to come and fetch them.
• Then, picked up delicious looking baked good seconds for the piggies in Hardwick from The Magic Spoon Bakery. And was gifted a tasty peanut butter cookie.
• Later on in the day, Ephraim, a fellow student and farm hand started fixing up the tongue of the hay wagon we'll be using as pig shelter/storage location for water and possible dry feed (on days there is no whey). Hooray for helpers and delegation of tasks!
  

Not so good news:

• Price Chopper and Hannafords both have policies barring them from giving me ANY leftover food. This is why I dislike dealing with big corporations. They have no reason/capacity to care for the little guy.
  
• EVEN WORSE, the dairy I was counting on for whey has decided to feed all their whey to their ewes. This is worrisome. I'm waiting to hear back from 2 other local cheese makers.
  

To-be-determined news:

• Still waiting to hear back from: Subway, Rock Art Brewery, Dunkin' Donuts and a few local restaurants.

That was basically my day as it relates to pigs. I had no class, instead ran around to different businesses hoping that doing things in person might be more persuasive.

I'll leave you with this cute thought/image.

DAY 1: measurements, mugginess, and making calls .

Weather: sunny, azure skies, low 80s (felt like way more, as the first day in the 80s always does)

Sows: Ice Cream weighed in at 553 lbs. and Maple was quite a bit less at a mere 512. The calculation I used was (GxLxL)/400, with G standing for girth (and L for length).

Piglets: ADORABLE, as usual. Oddly enough, the auburn colored ones, who are also some of the biggest, like being pet/scratched behind the ears the most. I guess I always knew redheads were the best :)

Decisions: The piglets fate will be: 4 slaughtered on-campus in September by Dave McCoy. One of which will be given/sold at a modest price to the church in Craftsbury for their monthly community meal, another of which will be the feature in a Welcome to the Fall Semester pig roast, and the last of which will be sold to the Sterling College Kitchen. 1 will be (tentatively) traded for a heifer with Heartbeet Farm. And the remaining 3 will be slaughtered off-site in February. Their pork will be sold in one of two ways: Either directly to low-income people (if their production cost was low-enough) or, more likely, some will be sold to higher-income people at full-cost + profit, and this will subsidize the donation of some pork to nearby food shelves.

Upcoming: Fence training! The wetter outside the better, as it'll provide a good, clean shock.

Question: Dunkin' Donuts seconds, ethical pig feed, yay or nay? (almost all the other surrounding bakeries I called this afternoon are fully tapped by either pig farmers or food shelves. which makes me proud of the NE Kingdom, but running low on options...)

The Plan

This summer I am in charge of 8 piglets and 2 sows as part of my senior project. My goals are two-fold: First, to regenerate Virgina Russell Pasture (part of it), an 8-acre pasture on the Sterling College Farm by having the pigs tear up the earth, and then reseeding it with a pasture mix. Second, I aim to produce pork that is as reasonably priced as possible in order for it to be sold to low-income people. Bacon for all!

The pigs will be out on pasture shortly. The farm manager, Stuart, and I will be fence training them this week, and they should be ready for pasture by next. (As well as fully weaned).

Edit 5/30: just kidding, they won't be fully weaned anytime soon. My adviser, the farm manager and I decided to try out letting the mom's control the weaning, since the piglets have been eating "grown-up" feed for awhile anyway. So they'll still be weaning when they go out on pasture.


I'll leave you with a video I took today of one persistent piglet and its mama (and her concurrent knocking over of her water container):